Business & Economy
Teri Dudley of Reed City’s Dairy Depot smiles after the proposed rezoning was denied by the local planning commission on Feb. 5.

Working-class Osceola County can’t afford to ignore politics, presidential election

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OSCEOLA COUNTY PROFILE: Working-class, lower-income Osceola County can’t afford to ignore politics and presidential election in a local economy dominated by two major employers, a hospital and a yogurt plant, and a long tradition of voting Republican. By Archer Guanco, Daniel Schoenherr, Anna Barnes and Lauretta Sha. FOR BIG RAPIDS, CLARE, LUDINGTON, CADILLAC AND ALL POINTS.

Autos & Manufacturing
A student in the PRIME program at Grand Haven High School.

Michigan manufacturers work to expand engineering training to high schools

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PRIME PROGRAM: The Michigan Manufacturers Association plans to expand its PRIME program that teaches high schoolers skills and technologies that are badly needed by the manufacturing sector. We talk to the association and a Grand Haven High School teacher. Among other participating high schools are ones in Alpena, Hancock, Rudyard, Pontiac. Cheboygan, Grand Rapids, Three Rivers and Bay City, with Traverse City slated to join later this year. By Sophia Ceru. FOR CORP!, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, IRON MOUNTAIN, SAULT STE. MARIE, MIDLAND, DETROIT, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, MARQUETTE, CHEBOYGAN AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Grants help integrate newcomers into Michigan communities

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NEWCOMERS: State grants will help nonprofits serve immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers integrate into their communities. The money comes from the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the federal government. Farmworker Legal Services in Grand Rapids will use its grant to expand its education and oversight activities to the Upper Peninsula. Les Clays, also based in Grand Rapids, will provide “second step” support for immigrants coming from Africa to West Michigan. Other grants recipients include support for Burmese immigrants in Calhoun County and, Islamic Americans in Detroit, partnerships between Catholic churches and local immigrants in Northern Michigan, and Latin American immigrants in Allegan, Kent, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties. By Alex Walters. FOR MARQUETTE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, SAULT STE. MARIE, IRON MOUNTAIN, WKTV, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
Detroit’s Masonic Temple on Temple Street is now a concert and events venue

Repurposed Masonic temples reveal Michigan history

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MASONIC TEMPLES: Lansing officials are considering a proposal to convert the historic but vacant Masonic Building into a new city hall. Other former buildings used by the Masons have already been repurposed, such as those in Detroit (concert hall), Big Rapids (bar) and Traverse City (boutique hotel). By Theo Scheer. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, WKTV, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, GREENVILLE, CORP! AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
This Clean-Seas facility in Newaygo is the proposed site of a new chemical recycling operation.

Scrutiny builds as Michigan awaits first ‘chemical recycling’ facility

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PLASTICS: Western Michigan would get the state’s first chemical recycling facility, in Newaygo, that would convert unrecyclable plastic into other products, such as fuel and more plastic. Critics, including lawmakers from Detroit and West Bloomfield, say the process would create other major environmental problems. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce supports the project. By Theo Scheer. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! DETROIT, GREENVILLE, OCEANA COUNTY, BIG RAPIDS, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS, AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

New book exposes local impact on introduction, loss of salmon in Great Lakes

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SALMON BOOK: The fall of salmon in the Great Lakes can be seen as a good thing ecologically although some people prefer native species, but the personal perspective and the local impact often are forgotten. We talk to a former Muskegon-based biologist who wrote a new book, The Salmon Capital of Michigan: The Rise and Fall of a Great Lakes Fishery, which tells that story from the perspective of Rogers City. We also hear from an MSU fisheries expert. By Shealyn Paulis. FOR ALPENA, ALCONA, MIDLAND, MONROE, ST. IGNACE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, CHEBOYGAN, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LUDINGTON, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, OCEANA COUNTY, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

Agriculture

Some want Michigan to regulate septic tanks to protect water quality 

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SEPTIC: Environmental groups are again pushing the Legislature to adopt a statewide sanitary code that would include mandatory inspections of septic systems. Leaking systems can contaminate groundwater, lakes and rivers, causing health problems and deterring water-related recreation. Sponsors include lawmakers from East Grand Rapids, Troy, Detroit, Holt, Walker, St. Joseph and Livonia. We talk to the Michigan Environmental Council, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and a Montmorency County homeowner with a septic tank. By Elijah Taub. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, MONTMORENCY, ALPENA, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, CHEBOYGAN, DETROIT, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, FOWLERVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.

Campus News

Section of Chestnut Road closed due to construction on Farm Lane bridge

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Part of the Spartan Statue intersection will be closed until May 1 due to construction on the Farm Lane bridge. Chestnut Road was closed before the start of the spring semester. While there is no construction being performed on Chestnut, the detour aims to protect pedestrians by reducing overflow traffic from the Farm Lane closure. The detour reroutes vehicles along Kalamazoo Street and Demonstration Hall Road. Michigan State Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) sent out a campus-wide email announcing the closure on Dec.

Business & Economy
The Dickinson County Road Commission paves a road with a rubber-modified asphalt that uses recycled tires.

Thousands of tires hitting the roads may end up in them

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TIRES: Michigan may have a sustainable answer, at least in part, to fixing its roads: asphalt made from recycled rubber tires. A partnership among state regulators, Michigan Tech and county road commissions is looking to reduce the piles of used tires. State grants support such efforts. We hear from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, a Muskegon official and a Michigan Tech expert. By Anna Barnes. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.